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Environmental protectors Agricultural businesses and individuals must project a positive image by promoting environmental stewardship of the crop protection industry to receive The "git 'r done" approach Git 'r done. Anyone who has watched the Blue Collar Comedy Tour knows the phrase has been a good one for Larry the Cable Guy. It might be just as good Computers don't get tired The sole purpose of Tri-State LLC, located in Fairmount, ND, is to supply either raw or blended fertilizer for other retailers. For that reason, it has Nurse tank plates THE ILLINOIS Fertilizer & Chemical Association recently posted an important reminder to ag dealers on its Web site. Nurse tanks for carrying anhydrous Strip-till's profit boost AG RETAIL businesses wanting to expand sales should investigate new ways to help current customers become more profitable, says Dan Towery, ag consultant, Buying flexibility A NEW 40,000-ton dry fertilizer plant standing alongside a unit-train spur in Alton, IA, has allowed its owners to largely avoid this winter's expensive Fertilizer outlook HIGH ENERGY prices that put the fertilizer market in the doldrums this fall and winter could result in spot shortages of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers Friends of the environment THE DECISION to invest in new storage and handling facilities in the last few years has reaped rewards for Eastern Farmers Co-op and Farmers Elevator New mix for pop-ups FMC CORPORATION has developed a new formulation of its Capture insecticide for corn that has better mixing properties than emulsifiable concentrates (EC) Price predictions THIS GROWING season there is good news about nitrogen fertilizer: It appears that prices for the fertilizer will fall in late spring and early summer Just-in-time fertilizer THE TIME when fertilizer dealers will be able to reliably supply customers who want to book fertilizer just before they need it is coming to an end. Dealers, Prevent rust in nurse tanks IF YOU test your company's nurse tanks, remember to put ammonia back into the tanks as soon as possible to prevent the inside of the tank from rusting, Energy anxiety AFTER HURRICANE Katrina battered the Gulf States in August of last year and inflated the nation's energy-related prices, some ag retailers were caught 4 risks in buying fertilizer PERHAPS THE biggest lesson learned by the agricultural supply industry in the past year is that the business environment is riskier than ever, especially Smart nitrogen advances If David Hodges' experience with marketing Agrium's ESN (Environmentally Smart Nitrogen) fertilizer in 2006 is any indication, sales of the polymer-coated Volatile product Michigan is one of only six states to have passed legislation that regulates the use of ammonium nitrate, an important nitrogen (N) fertilizer used to Thwart meth makers Some 10.4 million Americans age 12 or older have used methamphetamine (meth) at least once in their lifetimes Assessment tool The Illinois Fertilizer and Chemical Association (IFCA) has a good tool to help ag retailers ensure that they are complying with regulatory requirements License plate enforcement The state of Illinois recently announced that it will more uniformly enforce the requirement for fertilizer wagons to have license plates STEP up to stewardship The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) recently recognized three ag retailers that have gone above and beyond the requirements of their state and federal laws to ensure good stewardship in their communities Fall fertilizer forecast Fertilizer Management has become more of a year-round responsibility than it used to be, says Gayle Melcher, manager of Clarinda Co-op Company, Clarinda, Industrial PC DLoG LOGISTICS has designed an industrial, mobile personal computer that works in challenging environmental conditions. The new DNet MPC 5/110 features Budget proposal unfairly targets farm bill There's a popular old adage that says, If it isn't broken, don't fix it. That saying came to mind in early February when the administration released a Optimal application NOT EVERY expert agrees on how best to boost a sprayer's effectiveness, but few would disagree that the ultimate objective of a crop protection application Variable-rate review GLOBAL POSITIONING systems (GPS) and variable-rate technology (VRT) have been available to ag retailers and their farmer-customers for more than a decade Tougher beans STEVE HENRY, who farms near Nevada, IA, is trying to learn everything he can about Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS). However, he's frustrated with the lack Energy money available ANYONE INTERESTED in improving energy efficiency on a farm may apply for a grant or a loan from the USDA. However, he or she must apply for the money Shifting loyalties I like orange juice in the morning as part of my breakfast ritual. What made me think about that was a study done at the University of California Berkeley Hybrids for high-temp drying RESEARCHERS AT the University of Illinois have found that different hybrids handle drying at high temperatures better than others. The researchers found Low impact? U.S. SOYBEAN producers, bombarded almost daily with reports of new discoveries of Asian soybean rust, may be wondering at what point new findings of the Droplet size control CONTROL OF spray droplet size is critical for minimizing the risk of drift, says Scott Bretthauer, University of Illinois Extension specialist in application Aphid-resistant soybeans PIONEER HI-BRED International is analyzing its soybean varieties for resistance to soybean aphid. The company has screened numerous soybean lines with Court good customers WHAT'S THE best way to keep good customers coming back and to attract new ones? Fix annoying problems The first step is to focus on frustrations, says Atrazine adjustments FOR GROWERS concerned with using atrazine to control weeds on sensitive watersheds, management alternatives are plentiful, says Bill Johnson, Purdue University Listen up JUST HEARING the words of a speaker does not make for a good listener. Real listening the kind that brings results, solves problems and clarifies the The adjuvant advantage MORE THAN 4,000 adjuvants are on the market today to help improve a herbicide's performance. Bryan Young, associate professor of weed science at Southern Scout for western bean cutworm WESTERN BEAN cutworms (WBCs) have been a problem in the western Corn Belt since the 1940s and last year were discovered to have migrated further east Stay ahead of your customers WITH THE fast pace of change nowadays, identifying your customers' needs may seem like trying to hit a target moving at the speed of a Japanese bullet The great (driverless) race IT TOOK two tries over two years and a doubling of the prize money from $1million to $2 million, but in October 2005, the DARPA Grand Challenge found Too reliant on Roundup? RYEGRASS AND marestail were the first two weeds to develop resistance to glyphosate, such as Roundup and Touchdown herbicides, but they won't likely be GreenSeeker goes red GREENSEEKER technology will now be sold in the South and Midwest through Redball. The GreenSeeker technology that uses optical sensing for crop application 8 ways to reduce atrazine runoff ANOTHER CROP season means another season of atrazine application. Farmers and custom applicators need to take steps to protect sensitive watersheds from The Phosphorus Index NEW EPA and USDA efforts to improve surface water quality throughout the nation emphasize keeping a close eye on phosphorus (P), says Antonio Mallarino, Virtual terminal THE NEW IntelliAg virtual terminal from Dickey-john is designed to interface with seed sensors, shaft monitors and hydraulic valves on planters, grain Be your own weatherman Dynasen For remote monitoring, Dynasen's custom-built Sens-Alert systems offer three choices: a radio-controller interface unit (RCIU), digital cell phone Sensing direction Dryland corn farmers looking for a way to protect water quality and optimize nitrogen (N) applications can now find help through a variety of commercial New GVM sales rep Charlie Hickman takes over as the southern sales representative for GVM, Inc. He brings 20 year’s experience in related fertilizer and crop protection Strong track record In Wyoming County in upstate New York the state's top dairy county farmers are looking for good silage hybrids as well as good hybrids for grain. Tom Be prepared If the prospect of Asian soybean rust (ASR) hasn't already given you a scare, keeping track of the treatment options could add to the fright. A dozen Complete systems THE WORD may cause some ag retailers to cringe, but not Rod Miller, seed systems manager for Crop Fertility Specialists (CFS), Rossville, IN. Miller says 4 ideas for coping with ASR WORK HARD to manage growers' expectations about Asian soybean rust (ASR), advises Duane Mol, chemical manager for Crop Production Services, Galesburg, Q&A DAN TOWERY created Ag Conservation Solutions, an ag consulting business, in January 2005, after working 25 years with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Less chemistry, more biotechnology BY NOW, it's no surprise to most agricultural retailers that few new herbicides are entering the corn and soybean marketplace. Because new product development Looking to lenders CROP INPUT financing programs have become as competitive as the products themselves, and all signs point to a continuation of this trend. The crop input Nourishing the bottom line Offering nutrient management services requires a fair amount of investment whether it be in additional staff, training, specific software or simply more The first impression Finding reputable home remodeling and repair companies is never easy, but after we decided to replace all the windows on the front of our 30-year-old Preserving identity MANY CONTRACTS that retailers make with processors to deliver specialty grains specify that the retailers must have identity-preserved (IP) capabilities, Precise ag chemical injection CHEMILIZER says its new CP33 injector adjusts easily to a range of water volumes and helps to deliver chemicals quickly and accurately into the water New weapon in herbicide arsenal THE INTRODUCTION of a new herbicide that can be used on rangeland, pastures, wildlife habitat areas and other non-cropland areas has sparked the interest New formulation DUPONT'S STEWARD EC insecticide in a new formulation has received registration approval from EPA. The new formulation is in a more convenient form, according